Review: ‘X’ #4

Shotgun blasts for everyone in “X” #4. Things get dirtier and nastier for our anti-hero trying to clean up the city of Arcadia in the most blood-splattered ways possible. Nothing is clean, sacred or safe in this town. X is irritating everything corrupt is ultra-violent fashion without consideration for his or anyone else’s safety.
WRITTEN BY: Duane Swierczyski
ART BY: Eric Nguyen
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: 14 August 2013

I honestly would not be surprised at all if they do an all-red issue in the future. There is so much spilt blood and body parts flying in this issue I half-thought it was a zombie story. Sadly for the inhabitants of this tale, these people have turned themselves into monsters with no viral infection as an excuse to be found anywhere. The horror of people’s base nature is profiled in writer Duane Swierczyski’s coda for X’s first act of vigilante terrorism. Natives of this town seem capable of doing anything in order to survive, no matter how filthy it may be.

I have never heard of a villain who you could literally punch in the face forever since he can’t feel it. The fact that his skin is grafted from pigs is a not-so-subtle nod to show how ugly Berkshire is on the inside and on the outside. This is a horror film with vigilantes mixed in to give readers a bracing new story. Absolutely every character gets theirs hands, mouths, and everything else dirty here.

Is there a horror channel out there that could adapt this? I don’t know as I only get two English channels here in South Korea. This issue screamed zombie-gore, but no undead were anywhere to be found. It’s fascinating to see uninfected people can be as gruesome as flesh-eating monsters. There’s more mysteries to be explored in Arcadia and how X plans to exact justice. Now that I think of it, this story IS already on TV in a PG-friendly version: the CW’s Arrow. Only this crusader is rated a hard R. Duane Swierczyski and Eric Nguyen are keeping me distressingly compelled to see where they’re going next.